Finding a way out
by Yumeko nee
Summary: Have you been in the friend zone? These two are, but not for much longer. AU, modern life; Gruvia and the favourite couples
1. Chapter 1

**Hi there!**

This is dedicated to those who liked Fairies' Plays! I had great fun writing it and I don't know if it will be of your like or you'll find any interest on it, but oh well! It's kind of my thanks gift (?

I love AUs so here is mine.

As always, I'm not a native speaker so forgive my mistakes!

**Warning: Under this site's motto, I unleashed my imagination and this story was born. I will try to keep them in character but this is going to be OOC without a doubt, even the relationships will be different. Also, it's my first attempt of writing something innocently hot so please, don't make fun of me haha.**

Yumeko nee

* * *

~** 1** ~

The door of the apartment was opened and four teenagers stepped in. They were just back from the cinema and they were still talking about the film.

"The best one was the battle scene" a pink haired guy commented on the subject. His words received a laugh from the other three.

"Come on Natsu, you always say the same after each movie we see" a blond said and a blue haired girl nodded in agreement.

"Lucy's right, you will say that even after watching a drama" the guy with raven spiky hair said as he left the keys on the counter of the kitchen.

They made their way up the stairs to Gray's room as tradition dictated. The warm clothes were put on the chair in front of the desk.

Natsu and Lucy connected the play station to the TV as Gray and Juvia went down again searching for beverages. When the two were back, two remotes were waiting for them over the bed and their friends were already on the floor with their owns.

After a while, Gray and Juvia high-fived while Lucy said "It's your fault" to the boy beside her.

"Another round, flame-brain?"

Natsu pointed his finger at him. "Hell yeah, stripper!" he exclaimed just when the lights turned off. "Hmm? They cut off the electricity?"

The black-haired guy frowned with annoyance. "Damn" he muttered while he stood up and went for a candle. He lighted it and left it on the desk.

They continue on chatting until the blond yawned deeply. She approached her wrist watch to the candle. "Oh my, it's 3 a.m. already" she stood up from the floor and went to the chair. "I'll better get going".

The guy with pink hair stood up too. "And of course I'm walking you home" he said with a toothy smile

Lucy smiled sweetly and gave him a peck on the lips. Gray begun mocking Natsu and Juvia giggled. "If you two were on an anime, you'd be cannon from the first episode" she assured. The blond girl blushed while the pink guy looked at the ceiling.

The couple had been going out for almost two years and they still blushed over the slightest things.

But this was not a double date or something of the like; the only couple there were the said blond and pink guy. Other friends of them would always said how Gray and Juvia made an adorable couple but they were truly far from that.

Juvia and Lucy were best friends and they went to the same school. It was the same for the guys, even if they didn't admit it and teased each other nearly all day. The four of them were in the last year of high school with eighteen years on their lives, but they went to different ones.

Lucy met Natsu after finding him kicking a vending machine in the street. "It's stuck with my last coin!" he complaint after she asked him. She simply laughed and gave him another one. He thanked her deeply since he was really thirsty on that summer day and somehow, they ended up talking a bit more and... well, got together after a lot of time.

Naturally, they got to know each other's friends so Gray and Juvia met too after a while. They became friends instantly since there were a lot of things in common between them apart from the couple they knew.

The four of them always hanged out together since those days.

Natsu and Lucy said goodbye and the three of them went down the stairs. Juvia, left alone on the bedroom, lied on the bed and entered to 9gag from her smart phone. Two minutes later, she heard Gray's feet going up.

He hoped on the bed beside her, welcomed by the complaining squeaks of its springs.

"What are you doing?" he asked after a while, head coming closer to hers to look at the screen of the phone.

She swiftly turned to look at him, narrowing her look. "Don't do that again" she said as she moved a bit apart from him.

Gray was taken aback by her unexpected reaction. It's not like they had never been that close, lying side by side while chatting. "Huh? What did I do?".

One hand left the phone and covered her neck. "Speaking near my ear or even worse, breathing on my neck" she explained pouting. She frowned and looked at the screen again. "It's annoying".

A huge grin spread across his face and went by completely unnoticed by the girl.

Among her acquaintances, Juvia was well known as the embodiment of immunity. It didn't matter where you tickled her, no laugh came out of her mouth; she would just smile like pitying you for thinking that was going to work before giving you back the pathetic attempt. As a result of this inhuman ability -as her closest friends and thus most frequent victims called it- tickling people had become her hobby and the sole swift movement of her fingers made them flinch.

Now, if he was not mistaking her reaction, Gray had just found by chance a remaining human spot. And if he played well this card, he was going to take revenge on behalf of many.

* * *

She kept on scrolling down the gags until she felt his fingers on her side. She chuckled while glancing at him.

"You know that this is going to end up pretty bad for you".

"Oh~" he said faking fear. "Don't worry, I will make you pay someday" he added with a smirk.

Juvia giggled and left the phone on the floor, preparing for the upcoming battle. "I don't see that happening any time soon" she commented jeeringly while warming up her fingers in a comical way. "Ready?" she clenched her fists a few times.

"More than you think" he stated confidently.

Juvia was a bit surprised of his attitude; usually, when her tickles were coming, Gray moved his arms frantically and said "I give up" or something of the like. Why the sudden change she opted to ignore since she had to defend her tittle. And so the match begun.

Her finger tips ran all over his chest, sides and belly, sticking into the skin from time to time. At first, he tried to restrain the involuntary laugh by grinding his teeth and clenching his fists; the sight of his concentrated expression made her giggle. She had to recognize that he was bearing with it quite well and just when she was feeling worry about the effectiveness of her attack, he burst into laughs. His body gave in to the tickling sensation and curled up out of reflex, while his hands tried to put distance between them.

But Gray was laughing so hard that he couldn't defend himself properly, so she managed to reach his upper half in spite of his efforts.

After several minutes, the guy took a deep breath. "ENOUGH".

Juvia was going to raise an eyebrow but his hands were faster; the sudden grasp on her wrists startled her.

Gray was panting really hard and tried to catch his breath while she laughed. "I told you".

He didn't say anything; she frowned as he seated on the bed, not loosening the grip in the slightest and placing one arm at each side. "What are you-?" she trailed off as he leaned over her, locking his dark stare on her cerulean eyes.

"I'm taking my revenge right _now_".

Up until that moment, they had been struggling in almost darkness since the light provided by the candle on the table wasn't enough to distinguish every shape. Even though, she could clearly see the whiteness of his teeth in his devilish grin.

She gulped, deciding to think about why she liked that smile later.

He pounced on her neck like a lion on its prey, making sure his warm breath reached her skin. Juvia's eyes widened horrified for what was going to come. "N-n-n-noo" she stuttered moving her face from side to side frantically.

Gray chuckled in her ear and that sent a chill down her spine. She heard her stomach pleading for laughing and bit her lower lip. Her hands struggled for freedom but the firm hold of him immobilized them utterly.

"How does it feel?" he said mockingly after torturing her for a few more minutes.

Seeing how unable of answering she was, Gray asked playfully "you want me to stop?".

She nodded madly and he sighed with satisfaction while parting from her. "There you go, a taste of you own medicine" he commented as she seated too.

Juvia giggled while smiling. "You are right but-". In a split second the fake smile fainted and a devilish one appeared on her face as her kind eyes pierced through him. "You are going to pay for this". As soon as she said the last word, she tackled him down on the mattress.

"Hey, I was just taking my vendetta!" he complaint while the girl seated on his stomach and made sure her knees clutched his arms against his sides. She ignored his remark and with her right hand on his left cheek, turned his head to the side. She leaned over him and brushed her lips on his neck. "J-juvia?!" His voice trembled.

"Yes?" her voice feigned innocence in the back of his ear.

"You must s-stop" he muttered with great difficulty as she giggled delightfully, her nose running down his neck. "I'm going to die at this rate" he stated while quitting the struggle under her.

She chuckled while parting slightly. However, Juvia's eyes widened when she saw his wide smirk and she mentally face palmed herself for falling in his trap; Gray straightened up swiftly, clutching her arms in a tight embrace while sinking his grin in her collarbone; she begun twitching like there was no tomorrow as he sniffled in her neck. "Y-you damn bastard" she kept on swearing while striving to escape from his hold and after minutes of unsuccessful trying, she opted for a counter attack. Her hands pulled up his shirt and slipped under it, tickling his toned torso directly. It had an instant effect, Gray laughed loudly and leaned forward; Juvia's head landed in the pillow as their bodies ended up entangled.

Her fingers never stopped; their tips continue on tickling his back and she giggled as she felt the diminutive drips of sweat and the warmth his frame was irradiating; somehow, even her overly hygienic conscience liked that.

He was panting really hard. "Such a devilish woman" he said with a grin barely apart from hers. She noticed his fingers were looking their way under her shirt and she was going to grumble about the useless attempt when they touched her skin. Her eyes almost exploded; there it was, the tickling sensation she had never felt before.

But it was utterly different of what she thought.

Whenever she tickled someone they laughed loudly as his friend had just done; but she only giggled.

No, the sound that came out of her mouth was a moan.

Gray's fingers left a scorching feeling on her skin every time they came in contact. It was strange, the feeling of another person's warmth was truly odd.

The sight of his naughty smirk made her realized how much she liked the way his lips curved.

His hands looked for hers and caught them; with his left one he grasped both wrists and put them in the pillow just above her hair. By that time she knew how bad her situation was and the widening of his smile confirmed her worries. Juvia just stared at him as he lowered his mouth on her left ear. He didn't say anything, he just made sure to breathe noisily as his free hand brushed her hip bone; she twitched while biting her lower lip and he chuckled enchanted of the effectiveness of his actions. His index and mid fingers faked a trek to her belly button. "S-stop, please!" she said, her pleading voice barely audible; the two of them knew there was and implied "don't" before those words.

Gray's lips ran down to her neck and stopped there. "Why should I?" he asked teasingly, placing his palm over her belly and tickling there.

Juvia's head turned to a side involuntarily and her feet kicked dumbly. She wanted to get away from him but at the same time she didn't; a still rational part of her mind was telling her to escape while another part was telling her the contrary; and since her jelly like body didn't struggle she assumed the latter part had won.

His fingers went up a little more. "Say "please, Gray-sama" and I will consider it" he offered in her jaw.

She was holding her breath in order to restrain another moan; had she tried to talk, she would have probably yelled. And the fact that his hand was so close to her chest was the main reason of that.

Gray locked his eyes on hers, their faces a few inches apart. "Time out?" he suggested with a winner smirk. She nodded and finally let go her breath when his grip loosened.

He collapsed right there, his left cheek landing on her cleavage. His hands freed her wrists and slowly made their way down, finally resting at her sides. Juvia's did the same but followed a different route; her left palm ended on top of his head while the other patted his shoulder before staying there.

Both of them heard each other's pounding heart regaining its normal pulse.

"You seem to have been in a marathon" he commented while looking up at her.

She looked down at him raising an eyebrow. "You are no one to talk" she said mockingly as her fingers pinched his wet shirt. He chuckled and closed his eyes.

Juvia locked hers on the ceiling. They were finally catching their breaths and she unconsciously begun combing his black mane. Then she looked at the candle on the desk; she couldn't help but smile ironically at her thoughts. "This is such a romantic set-up like in movies".

It took her a few seconds to realize how wrong the whole thing was as her rational part started dominating again.

She abruptly looked down at the guy resting on top of her; he was almost falling asleep over her creased shirt, the piece of clothing pulled up to her bosom. She was hugging him with tenderness, even running her fingers through his hair and her legs were entangled with his in an intimate way. She looked at their sides and saw the wrinkled bed cloth falling off the mattress.

She had to get out of there.

"Ouch" he complaint as he rolled off her; she had pushed him like a potato sack.

Juvia took one of her shoes. "Get up, I'm going home and I need you to open the door".

Gray scratched his head. "Huh?"

She put on the other and stood up. "I want to sleep".

Something in her bossy tone told him it was better to do as she said quickly.

He yawned before leaving the bed. "Fine, fine; I will pick up my jacket and walk you home" he said as he looked for it.

She grabbed her coat from the chair and turned. "Don't worry I will walk alone".

Gray glanced at her. "There's no way you are going on your own at this hour" he simply said before stepping out of the room and heading to the stairs.

Juvia bit her lower lip; at that moment she was cursing his chivalry.

* * *

She waved off a last time before closing the door.

Juvia made her way to her bedroom while taking off the several capes of clothes. She entered without turning on the lights and put on the pyjama that was under her pillow.

Once lying on the bed, she tried to sleep, something that turned out impossible. Gray's hands were still touching her; she could still feel them. Her arms wrapped around her as the sole memory made her heart race. His wide grin was printed in her mind; her brain kept on thinking in his lineaments, his looks, his messy hair. She cupped her cheeks as she felt the warmth spreading on them and that word reminded her of his breath in her ear, the scorching sensation on her skin and how badly she had liked all that.

And damn, she wanted to yell. Hadn't it been for his brother sleeping in the next room, she would have probably shouted with all her mighty.

She turned on the light of her night table and took out a pen and her diary from a drawer. She searched that day across the pages and when she finally found it, Juvia made a cross on it. After leaving it in its place once more, she turned off the light and covered herself with the blankets.

Whether that cross meant something bad or unforgettable, she just didn't know.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello! Here's chapter two but before that, thanks to the followers of this story! Thank you very much for the favourites and alerts :)**

**For the reviewers (your words stole a piece of my heart): ****The Golden****Witch, ****BrigitteoO, YamixTeaLover****,**** Guest****(hey, at least leave your name!)****, Medaka-chan, little kitty, animegirl115**

**Such nice people who took the time of writing their opinion ~ Thank you! I love you if you don't mind a complete stranger saying that (? **

**Warning! Extremely OOC Juvia and Gray coming for the sake of the story.  
**

**And as always, I'm not a native!**

* * *

~** 2** ~

Of course, the first thing that stroke her like a lightning were _those_ memories. But she decided to think about them during her morning shower. Juvia always begun the day with one and she reflected on things under the hot running water.

As she scratched her head spreading the shampoo everywhere, her mind replayed everything and the funny feeling in her stomach reappeared. The warmth from there reached every corner of her body. She just couldn't tell how she was going to react the next time he was in front of her. What was she going to do? Yell like she wanted to do last night? Run away like she actually did? No, she was going to act like normal. She was not seeing him until next weekend and by that time she was going to have cooled off. Besides chatting through the internet like they always did was not a problem for her fingers were going to speak instead of her trembling voice.

But why was she so worried? What was she exactly worried about?

She was sure of being the only one over thinking things. She was the only one who shivered with nervousness whenever they touched by chance walking to her house; she was the one who answered with a stuttering voice sometimes and she was the one whose mind didn't let her sleep for a long time.

By the time she stepped out of the bath wrapped in a towel, she had decided. It was just a game and meant nothing; her sick imagination was playing with her.

Yes, a truly odd game that forced an animal like sound out of her.

She shook her head and combed her hair facing the mirror. The surface reflected her serious glare. _Stop it already_.

Once in her room, she begun dressing. When she was about to put on the blue shirt she realized something.

"Nii-san?" she asked. "Gajeel nii-san?".

Juvia smiled when the silence confirmed she was alone; her brother had already left for the practise with his band. With the 'home alone' fever running through her veins, she went out of her room chanting happily and descended the stairs. She placed a hand on the door knob of the kitchen and opened it.

She froze in the frame as she spotted the subject of her conflicted morning seating on her dinner table.

_Why, why, WHY?!_

Her sudden appearance took him for surprise and he stopped chewing as his eyes processed that she was not wearing a shirt.

"What the hell are you doing here?" she said while approaching the fridge. _Act normal, act normal._

"Well, good morning for you too". He answered ironically and she gave him a crocked smile as she opened the door and looked for anything inside that would make her look away from him. She grabbed the milk and turned around heading for the larder, still avoiding the onyx eyes. _Act normal, act normal._

"I see you are already enjoying breakfast, so what can I do for you?" she asked over her shoulder as her fingers got a hold of a random cereal box.

Gray resumed chewing while looking at her hand curiously. "I thought you hated raisins".

It took her two seconds to understand what he meant. She looked at the box she had just picked and face palmed herself inwardly. It was one of those multi-cereal things her mother loved and she along with Gajeel hated. _Way to go, Juvia_. "I-I got a like on them a few weeks ago" she lied while filling a bowl with milk and the so wrong cereal.

He simply shrugged as his hand went to his back pocket. "This little friend of yours woke me up this morning" he said as his fingers showed her a cellphone.

After the second face palm, a mentally bump was already there. She had escaped in such a rush that she even forgot the cellphone under the fallen bed cloth on the floor. She was not that fond on phones so leaving it behind was nothing odd in her. Tasting a raisin and frowning thanks to that, she stretched her arm. "Thank you; let's see who woke up the sleeping beauty" she said as she unlocked the screen by sliding her finger tip on it. There were two lost calls from Lucy.

Now Juvia could have run to her room excusing herself with calling back her friend, put on a shirt, and come back properly dressed. But she did the contrary; she put her phone on her pocket and finished eating before leaving the kitchen. Why? Simply, she didn't want to act like an hysteric girl and after all, she was one of those that wondered about the difference between under wear and swimsuits.

At least, that was before that morning in which she found out there was a huge and inexplicable difference. Talking with a guy without a shirt was truly awkward, even if he didn't seem to mind it.

That's it. That's why she decided to stay. Since he couldn't care less about her like that, why should she?

"I bumped into your brother just when he was leaving. I asked him if he could give it to you but he groaned and opened the door again letting me in". _Thanks, nii-san _was all she thought. "He told me to give it to you myself for he was already late".

"So that's why I found you emptying my larder" she commented pointing at the several things he had put on the table with her head. He nodded. "Okay, I'm going to call Lucy" she said standing up and heading for the door.

"Hey, Juvia" he called and she turned around to look at him. He rested his chin on his hand. "Do you always walk around your house like that? Even when your brother is home?" he asked mockingly.

Her middle finger answered for her and he laughed. "And you all say I'm the stripper one".

* * *

She pressed the green button for calling as she looked for something to put on. "Juvia! You finally call me" was the first thing the blond said.

Her friend chuckled. "Did something happen?"

"No, I just wanted to tell you the Ladies is on Levy's, bye!".

Juvia chuckled as she left the phone on the bed. She hadn't realized it was already the first saturday of september.

They didn't know when or how it started, but she and her closest girl friends had a tradition. The first saturday of every month they had a sleep over in one of their houses and since they did what girls usually do when gathered together, they called it "the ladies night".

Once fully dressed, she stepped into the kitchen and grabbed her purse and keys. "The last thing you can do now is joining me during the shop" she said with a smirk for she knew how much he despised going to the super market.

Gray scratched his head and sighed. "Fair enough" he agreed and stood up.

* * *

**Just for you to know; that kind of thing does happen in real life. ****This did occurred to me. **

**I was taking a bath as my best friend waited down stairs in the living room. When I was drying my hair (without a shirt) I didn't hear him coming up with my ringing cellphone (mum of course). And yes, we did acted like normal; I said thanks while taking the phone and he simply said "you are welcome" and went down stairs. **

**Of course I exaggerated this in the chapter! Being the author I can play and tease the characters as much as I like, muahaha (?**

**So next time we get to meet 'the ladies', yay ~ (I said that in plural since not even I know what is going to happen on next chapter) and Gajeel has a band! I'm sorry if Juvia calling him 'Gajeel-niisan' instead of 'Gajeel-kun' was odd, but I wanted them to be siblings in this AU.  
**

**Hmm, Laxus or Freed for Mirajane? I don't really ship any of them for both are fine by me, but you guys decide about it for the future chapters.  
**

**Till next time if the lazy me writes something for chapter three. **

**Yumeko nee**

Pd: I can't wait for those three chapters on friday!.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi there! **

**You know, I'm one of those people who never open her mail. So, after a lot of time, I opened it and found out some people are following or even favourited me as an author! I don't know what's wrong with you, but thanks! The notice really made my day :D**

**The thanks corner!**

**CapriciousKrego: I'm glad you liked it :D I hope to keep on intriguing you (?**

**Medaka-chan: As always, you are the best reviewer! The sweetest person I have ever met in Fanfiction, indeed.**

**Mgaa: This chapter is specially longer for you ;) (Not that much, but hey! 3000 words are a lot to me!)**

**YamixTealover: I'm a tea lover too, so this OOC Juvia will be one too!**

**Poopypants: Okey, I'm not going to ask about your pen name, but let me thank you deeply for your words! Funny thing I used to hate the language and I'm writing a story in english right now xD.**

**Little kitty: I won't lie to you, I'm happy for making you forget about your homework, that means you like this story so yeah, I'm truly happy xD.**

**That's it! Thank you for your words and thanks to those silent readers too! :D And now to chapter three.**

**HEY, HEY, READ HERE!**

**About this dimension... I just don't know where they are.**

**I'm writing this with Argentina's things like educational sistem, climate, bla bla bla**

**But I will also write some festive days that are not from here! **

**So yeah, my dimension is kind of odd**

**But again, is my dimension!**

**Expect some mistakes minna!**

* * *

~** 3** ~

"Hey, Juvia" the black haired guy said as he watched her moving in the kitchen.

"Hmm?" she almost ignored him as she looked for everything needed.

"What are you doing?"

They were back from grocery shopping and Juvia was really thankful for the extra pair of arms that helped her on carrying the bags.

"A strawberry cake" she said gleefully and took out a mold. "Tonight we're celebrating Erza's new degree".

Gray's eyes widened a bit and Juvia bet he suppressed a shiver. "D-don't tell me-".

The blue haired girl nodded. "Yep, now she's a third dan of tae-kwon do".

The silence grew in the room as she simply looked for the ingredients and he still pondered about her words.

From Gray's point of view, the fact that their friend, Erza Scarlet, gained another degree in her black belt of the said martial art meant that the beatings he and Natsu were going to get from her, were going to be much worse from the previous ones. "Titania", the karate freak as the boys called her when she was not around, was a motherly figure in their circle due to her concern and love, but mainly for being the one who scolded them all when they did something stupid.

Of course, her reprimands were through her fists mostly of the times.

"Already thinking in your future beating?" she asked mockingly.

"Jeez, don't read my mind please" he said going by her side.

She chuckled and broke an egg into the bowl, then she stretched an arm and he placed another egg on her palm. "_I will be your dead man, with nothing but this blood on my hands..._" she begun chanting for herself as she broke a third one and stirred them.

"So, Deadman Wonderland is your current obsession" he commented.

She nodded still beating with the whisk. "The manga is awesome and this month the last part of the last chapter is being published".

"So you are going to go all 'Rainy woman' while reading it" he stated smirking.

She nodded helplessly. "Without a doubt".

Much to Juvia's dismay, there was nothing she could do about that nickname. Her easiness when it came down to crying and conveying her feelings or emotions were the main reason her friends begun calling her 'Rainy woman'.

"Sugar, please" she said in a sad sigh as she realized she was going to be like that pretty soon. It was like her way of saying farewell to a manga; if the last page of the final chapter made her shear tears or she felt a hollow in her chest as if something that was there a few minutes ago had been ripped off from there, then that manga was a masterpiece and went directly to her favourites.

He passed her the sugar and she beat everything until it had a pale colour. "Oh" she said when she noticed her fingertip covered with the same light yellow blend. She was turning around and heading for the sink with the clearly intention of washing her hands when Gray grasped her wrist. "Wait a minute".

Juvia was going to ask him what was the matter but when her eyes looked at him she knew what was going on.

_"Oh my god, oh my god" _her inner self cried_ "He's going to lick my finger! He's going to suck the tip like those sexy guys do in shoujo mangas"_ she stared expectantly at his mouth, her mind already picturing the scene and her lungs holding her breath unconsciously. Gray brought her hand closer to him and she was going to squeak for that simple move throw oil on the flames of her imagination.

But he only cleaned her finger with his own before putting it between his lips.

"Mmm, beaten eggs and sugar are delicious" he let go of her hand as he made sure there was no mixture left to lick in his fingertip. "What?" he added with an arched eyebrow when he noticed her widened eyes looking at him.

She blinked and started chuckling after a second. "It's nothing" she shook her head slightly and looked for the next ingredient.

_I'm such an idiot._

* * *

"Nii-san?"

After closing the door, Gajeel Redfox turned around and found her blue haired sister standing in the frame of the kitchen. The bags in her hand and the guilty smile plastered in her face spoke for her.

The dark haired man groaned and rolled his eyes. "Whose house is?" he asked opening the door once more.

* * *

"Thank you very much, nii-san!" Juvia gave him a quick kiss in the cheek and no time to complain for she was already out of the car. Her brother lowered the driver's window as she made her way to Levy's door. "You'd better call me tomorrow; don't you dare coming back on your own".

Juvia giggled while pressing the ring. "I know" she said a little loud for him to hear while waving her hand.

A voice from behind the door asked for an identification. "Hi, Levy" the blue haired girl announced herself with the greeting.

"Juvia!" the petite blue haired one known as Levy Mcgarden flung her arms around her as soon as she stepped outside.

This energetic welcome made the tallest girl giggle while returning the embrace. However, the sudden stiffness in Levy's arms surprised her. Juvia parted from her friend to see her face and found out that she wouldn't know how to describe those features. She couldn't tell which one of them were betraying her -maybe all of them were- but the fact that her friend was embarrassed was undeniable, and it took her a few seconds to realize her brother was the responsible of that.

Levy had a tiny smile on her lips as her eyes looked shyly at the guy in the car. She waved her hand a bit and blushed when the guy lifted his own in response. As for Gajeel, Juvia couldn't help but giggle after seeing an equally timid smile on her brother's face; it was a smile without showing his teeth, something odd in him since he always smirked rather than smiled. She made her way inside leaving the other two behind.

"Congratulations, Erza!" was the first thing she said handing the bag in her right hand to a scarlet haired girl who was seating in an individual couch. "Your favourite cake is here!".

Titania's jaw dropped a little, moved by the gesture. "S-strawberry cake?" she asked and almost jump in excitement after the blue haired girl had nodded. She instantly aroused and placed the cake on the coffee table of Levy's living room. "You shouldn't have bothered" she said with a wide smile, her arm surrounding Juvia's shoulders and bringing her closer to her frame.

"Next time, give her the cake and run for it before she catches you in one of her deathly hugs, Juvia!" the advice was given by a brown haired girl sitting on a large sofa. The white haired one right next to her laughed. "Erza, I think she's not breathing".

The titania patted the blue mane roughly and finally let her go. She picked up her cake and went to the kitchen to put it on the fridge. Juvia rubbed her neck giggling as she greeted Cana and Lisanna. "Huh, Lucy's not here?".

"I'm right here, darling" a mocking voice replied from the kitchen. Lucy stepped into the room with five glasses piled up as Levy closed the door.

"Should I order the pizza, then?" the blue haired host asked.

Cana made a devilish smile. "Oh, no. I will do it" she said standing up and going for the phone. "You just stay there and keep on waving your hand to her brother" she said pointing at Juvia.

Levy ended up laughing along with the others after a moment. She didn't try to neglect anything for her crush on Gajeel Redfox was already a fact.

"Ne, ne; why don't you go with him to the spring festival next weekend?" Lisanna suggested.

"Wa, there's no way I could do that" the petite girl covered her face; the simple thought of asking him out was enough to make her shiver with embarrassment.

Cana tsked shaking her head. "Come on, Levy. Mama is going with papa as usual" whenever Jellal Fernandez was called 'papa', the four girls giggled and the scarlet haired one lowered her gaze to the floor, unable of saying anything since that was another undeniable fact. "Lucy is going with her flame idiot" Cana went on and the blond mumbled something. "I'm going with Bacchus and Lisanna with Bixlow; and as always, the only ones who have no dates are you two, blue haired idiots!" she said pointing at Juvia and Levy with an accusing finger.

Juvia shrugged. "It doesn't bother me; it's spring festival after all, not st valentine"

Cana folded her arms over her chest. "I'm truly concerned, Juvia. At least Levy likes your brother, but you" Juvia rolled her eyes as Cana pointed her finger once more "you don't even like someone!"

Lisanna tilted her head a bit. "Ju-chan, haven't you liked or at least found some guy attractive in your seventeen years?"

Juvia sighed. She knew that her 'utter purity', as her friends called it, was going to be the topic of chat occasionally, but she didn't expected it to be so soon.

"Of course I found some men attractive as we all do. But I had never liked some one before" she shrugged again.

Cana was shaking her head, feigning disappointment. "It's just so unfair to us" this sentence made the other four look at her with puzzlement. "We can't even call you "bitch" when we are mad at you!"

"H-hey! I think that's a good thing" Juvia defended herself.

"Should I call you "nun" during those times then?" the brunette asked with arched eyebrows.

"Enough with the names" Erza butted in and looked at Cana. "Stop it already; there's no need to rush when it comes to matters of love"

"You are just defending your favourite daughter because she brought you a strawberry cake!"

After they all laughed for a while, Cana spoke again. "Oh, I'm so silly" she said as she had forgotten something and was just remembering it. "I'm worrying too much". The brunette smacked her head lightly. "How could I forget about your already assigned soul mate, Gray Fullbuster?!"

"WHAT?!" Juvia's voice came out really high-pitched.

Lisanna nodded nonchalantly. "Now that I think about it, you do get along well" she said with a finger under her chin.

Juvia tried to regain her normal tone before speaking. "Oh, no. We are just friends".

Cana shook her head. "They all say that at first, but then, BAM!" the sudden raise in her voice made Juvia jump.

"Come on, Juvia. You spend a lot of time with him"

"You share the same interests" Levy nodded.

"Stop it right there; we like manga and thus, 99% of our conversations are about that; the remaining 1% has to do with other things. We don't really know each other pretty much".

Cana whistled. "So, you two are that close just by talking of anime?"

Juvia couldn't say anything but thankfully, Erza came to her rescue. "I'm hungry, so stop asking her about the stripper and ORDER THE PIZZA ALREADY". It was not only the command in her voice but her piercing eyes that made them leave the topic; after all, Erza managed to point a sword at you just by locking her eyes. Juvia smiled at her as Levy called the delivery, and Titania winked in response.

* * *

They were all asleep except for Juvia; she had been staring into the darkness for quite a while.

She had told the truth back then; she didn't know him that much apart from the basis. And they did talked about manga or anime a lot; after all, they became friends thanks to that. The only thing she knew about his personal life was that he lived with his sister and mother. Of course, she had no idea of what happened to his father; after all, Juvia never asked people about their matters for she herself was truly reserved about her own.

It was strange but even without knowing him from head to feet she did felt him a dear friend of her; one of the dearest indeed.

And it was not the first time some one asked her about him; she always replied calmly, hardly listening to them. But this time, some memories came to her mind after hearing his name and her voice almost hit the ceiling.

She sighed and decided to have some tea. She got up trying her best to not make too much noise or stomp over someone's head or limb, and slipped into the kitchen.

She chanted a random song as she waited for the infusion to be ready. When she liked the colour of the beverage, she took out the tea bag and turned.

"Lucy" she jumped when she spotted the blond leaning her shoulder against the door frame. "You scared me, idiot!" she said with her free hand over her chest, feeling her raced heart after skipping a beat.

Her friend unfolded her arms and made her way to Juvia. "W-what?" she asked her as she noticed the scrutiny gaze on the other's caramel eyes.

"What's up with you?" she asked in a low voice.

"Huh?"

Lucy lifted an eyebrow. "Don't play dumb with me, you know that I can see right through you" she said as her fingers pointed first to her eyes and then to Juvia's. She folded her arms once more. "So split it up; why did you act like that when Cana mentioned Gray?"

"I said we are just friends like every time you ask about that" she shrugged and brought the cup to her lips trying to sound natural about the subject.

The blonde didn't move nor say anything.

"F-fine" she finally sighed admitting defeat. Lucy took the cup from her hands before seating in a chair. Juvia's seat was signaled by the waiting tea placed on the table in front of the chair across the blond.

"I'm listening" her friend smiled and rested her chin on her entangled fingers as she always did whenever she was going to provide silence for a while.

Juvia looked away from her while sipping her beverage, trying to find the words. After a few minutes she left the empty cup on the wood surface and glanced at her.

"D-do you remember last night at his house, when the lights turned off and you went home leaving me alone in his room?" she asked and received a roll of eyes that meant _of course I do, that was yesterday_ as confirmation. "Well, I'm probably over thinking this but something strange happened".

Lucy simply nodded. _Go on_.

Juvia inhaled deeply and decided to say it without a prologue.

"We kind of, ended up sweaty and exhausted after a tickling match that was nearly a wrestling round" she felt the blush creeping on her cheeks and couldn't maintain eye contact. "We were really close all the time and somehow he even rested on top of me. And my scumbag brain keeps on replaying the episode; his breath in my ear, his smirks, the way his fingers touched my skin-"

"Hold on right there!" Lucy broke her silence abruptly and even held her hand up claiming for hush. "Juvia, you are narrating this as if you two had tried to have sex with your clothes on, so please-" she was going to ask for another choose of words when she looked at her friend's features; the lips clutched in a fine line, the color on her cheeks and the look her cerulean orbs were giving back. Lucy's hand smacked her forehead and slipped down her face. "W-what did you two do?"

_Maybe the prologue is needed after all._ And Juvia explained the events with every detail.

"JUVIA!" the blond couldn't help but yell after listening the story and her friend hushed her with a finger on her lips; the last thing she wanted was waking up the other girls. Her mind was not strong enough to even think about Cana learning about that.

"I'm sorry". Lucy sighed and Juvia waited for her to say something. After a brief gap, the caramel eyes looked up and a crocked smile was drawn on her face. "Who would have thought you are the kind of girl who takes the lead" she begun with her thumb under her chin "I mean you actually seated on top of him".

Juvia covered her face embarrassed. "Please, don't say that; I have no idea of why I did it".

"And you even moaned" she added. Juvia grabbed the spoon from the cup and hit her forehead with it. "Ouch!"

She held the utensil up at the other's eye level. "Have you seen "The Horribly Slow Murderer with the Extremely Inefficient Weapon" by Richard Gale? Beware or else you are going to be the next" she said menacingly.

The blond nodded while rubbing the impacted area and the spoon was left on the table.

"Don't worry Juvia, it was just a _game_" Lucy folded her legs and embraced them "A little odd but just a game between two childish friends".

"I know that's what I said a hundred or so times to myself". Her blue locks danced as she shook her head. "But I actually moaned, Lucy, like an animal! And my body moved on its own account due to my mind was gone to just the Lord knows where" she was all red again and looked at her hands. "To top it all, like I said before, I'm the only one over thinking it. This morning, he acted all casual, as if nothing had happened, even after seeing me without a shirt!" she cupped her cheeks. "I-it's not that I was expecting him to jump over me or anything but-"

"JUVIA!"

"W-what?!" she looked up.

"Natsu had to wait at least eight months before looking at me without a shirt and you are telling me Gray had already saw you half-naked?!" her hands moved frantically.

"I-it's not like I wanted idiot!" her clenched fists flung in the air. "Jeez, listen to me first" she said before explaining.

"As you can see, it was just an accident. I was the whole morning thinking how I was going to act the next time I saw him and it turned out he was already there" she finished covering her eyes with her right hand.

"Juvia" Lucy's voice made the other look up at her. "Are you two stuck in the so-called 'friend zone' by chance?"

"Of course not" she answered annoyed. "You are friendzoned when you are helplessly in love and the other person is oblivious to your feelings. And since neither he nor I have feelings for each other apart from those of friendship, we are far away from there". Deciding that the chat was over and it was time to sleep, she picked up the cup and left the table.

Lucy looked at her with disbelief. "Then, if you are so sure of this, how would you explain what happened in his room or your nervousness about seeing him?" she stood up too and stretched her limbs. "Nothing like that happened to me with any of my male friends, only with the pink idiot" she assured putting down her arms. "Anyway, I'm not pushing you with the matter. Do as you think since you are the only one that listens both, your heart and brain" she shrugged before stepping out of the kitchen.

Her words seemed to lower Juvia's movements. As she thought about her friend's words she placed the cup on the sink with too much care, far from needed.

* * *

**Keep ond denying it Juvia, but you are going to fall for him without a doubt. Muahaha (?**

**I hope you could bare with it. ****I'm not fully satisfied with this update, but I simply wanted to write this to get it out of my mind. Maybe I'll be able to study now -.- So sorry for the bad update haha  
**

**I made Juvia a bit of an otaku for obvious purposes: her theatre like imagination! And yes, YOU MUST READ DEADMAN WONDERLAND.**

**And I do cry from time to time after reading a great manga, so I had to include that on the story xD**

**Btw, I can't wait to write Gruvia moments! Be patience people, next time is spring festival and some cute moments are coming, yay!  
**

**I too hope life to be nice to you and not so bitchie like she has been with me lately xD**

**Till chapter four :) **

**Yumeko nee.**

Pd: the latest pic Mashima posted on twitter about Gray and Juvia is soooooooooooooo sweet! There's no way I'm not using it in this story, for summer time!


	4. Chapter 4

~** 4** ~

"So, this kind of thing does happen in real life" she commented looking at the group of girls on her right.

Eight pair of eyes were looking intently on her direction and if it weren't for the black haired guy walking beside her, Juvia would have been at loss about why was that. Of course, due to anatomy matters, there was no way their eyes were heart-shaped like in an anime, but something on the way those orbs were staring at Gray reminded her of that. And after passing by their side, listening their undisguised talk about how good-looking he was or how bad-ass he seemed, she thought that if they were to know his name, they would probably wear headbands and flung flags with "We love Gray" written on them.

Well, leaving her overly anime-influenced imagination to one side, she couldn't blame them since they were not the first ones who abruptly turned their heads to look at him; his friend was the kind of guy who unwillingly catch the attention of the opposite sex. It was not only that his face and its natural frame -his bluish-black locks- were the first thing which caused both, interest and pleasure on looking at him, but also his well-built, courtesy of the athleticism club; even if he were to wear several capes of clothing, the x-ray vision of a woman didn't pass by his broad back or flat abdomen. In addition, his height was just right, definitely not short but not a living-building either.

"Girls are so stupid" he groaned with a frown, not even sparing a glimpse on them. Juvia swiftly looked at him and Gray glanced down at her after noticing her sudden movement; he met her narrowed cerulean eyes. "Ah but don't worry, I'm talking about normal girls and not the special ones like you" he explained.

If a person had listened his words without looking at him, he or she would have probably thought he was saying a compliment; but since Juvia was staring at his lips, curled up into his characteristic mocking smile, she knew the adjective was used to call her "odd". She folded her arms over her chest and made an offended sound, he chuckled and both looked forward.

They were strolling down the overly crowded street of the spring festival, heading to the meeting point they had settled with their friends. As their eyes wandered through the faces of the people and the several stands, Gray spotted a blond waving her hand and he pointed at her with his arm for Juvia to see her too. They approached her and found out every one was there.

"Yooh ~" Cana lifted her hand greeting. "Why am I not surprised of you two being the last ones?".

"I asked him to come for me since my brother had practice before coming here". Juvia's accusing finger pointed at him and Gray rolled his eyes. "But he was too busy with a League of Legends match to come early!" she said angry.

"Now, now, Ju-chan" Lisanna said as Gray went to talk to Natsu mumbling _yeah, whatever_. "That's not the way to thank him for escorting you".

The brown haired girl surrounded her shoulders with an arm. "She's right, Juvia; he did had to go first to your house and then here when he could have come directly" she said with a playfully smile. Juvia freed herself from her hold. "I had already properly thanked him" she said before going beside Levy and Lucy, who welcomed her with a warm smile.

"So, how did it go?" Lucy asked looking at the tallest blue haired girl. "Did you like the first week of your brand new life?".

Her first response was a deep sigh. "It's the same life, you know?" Juvia chuckled a bit before Levy shook her head. "This quarter of the year is going to be crazy for you. It's hard to believe you are willing to have such an agitated routine!".

Juvia simply shrugged; her friends were exaggerating. Taking the preparation course of the university she was going to attend -hopefully- next year, during the third and last quarter of her high school life, didn't seemed so crazy to her; by doing this and taking the entrance exam on December, she was going to spend her last utter free summer with the certain knowledge of being admitted in Fiore's prestigious university of engineering.

Maybe it was the fact that she was not going to give up on her ballet classes what surprised them, her schedule ending up a little tight thanks to that.

Just... a little.

It had been the first week of attending to school in the morning and the preparation classes on the afternoon, finishing her day with an hour and a half of ballet on the late evening of Monday, Wednesday and Friday; if she were to say she had not ended up exhausted by this, she would be lying not only to her friends but also to herself. The festival begun nearly at night and she had slept the whole Saturday; after bathing and putting on her white yukata with sakura patterns, she waited for Gray on the couch of the living room and she even fell asleep there, the ring waking her from the brief nap.

Yeah, the first week of this routine had been a mess without a doubt, but there was no way of her admitting this; she kept repeating to herself that it was just a matter of time before getting used to it.

"Which subjects do you have?" Lucy went on.

Juvia lifted three fingers. "Math, chemistry and physics". She laughed when Levy made a disgusted face. "Come on, they are not that bad!"

Since a very young age, Levy Mcgarden had known what she wanted to be in the future: the very first moment she got a hold on a book and opened it, the will to be a literature teacher was planted in her. That's why, when it came down to writing her mind or studying contents she was the best, but when numbers knocked in her door they were never welcomed.

The blond chuckling at her other side had a similar experience but at least could stand exact sciences; while Levy wanted to teach and amuse her students with the greatest literary works of history, Lucy Heartfilia wanted to contribute with this universal literature. She dreamed with writing lines which could take the readers breath away or make them shed some tears, sentences which would end up engraved in their minds or simply enjoy reading her words as much as she did while putting them together.

It was Levy's turn. "Had you make new friends?"

Her smile along with Lucy's fainted as they looked Juvia staring at the ground. "Not... yet" the blue haired girl answered in a lower voice.

Truth be told, Juvia Loxar was an easy-going person once you got to know her, but she found truly difficult to socialize because of her shyness. She was the kind of girl who stuttered while asking a stranger a direction or answering some questions when her particulars were needed; she was sure about how bad the first impressions of her were, people tending to think she was silly or even a bit crazy when she blushed while speaking. And as much as she disliked this, being so insecure just by talking to an unknown person, she couldn't help it. She was, by nature, an utterly reserved person. She didn't like to talk about herself or what was in her mind most of the times; if her friends thought about it for a moment, they would realize they were the ones who always told her about either problems or secrets, while she was more than reluctant to do that.

This timidity of her -the principal sign of her insecurities- was her greatest defect to change, because maintaining some things to yourself is important, but not being able to meet people because of this is bothersome.

"Jeez, Juvia! We can't go there and make friends for you!". Lucy groaned and Juvia felt two fingers pinching her right cheek. "You have to open this damn mouth of yours!".

Levy nodded in agreement. "Ju-chan, you are a nice person and you shouldn't be afraid of making new friends!"

Once the blond let her go and rubbing her cheek, she smiled at her concerned friends. "Thank you guys" and the two other girls winked.

The three of them looked forward and saw the others meeting with another group. "Oh! Gajeel nii-san!" Juvia greeted her brother as soon as she recognized the black haired man standing there with his friends. Mirajane Strauss, Lisanna's sister and the lead singer of the band, a white haired girl just like her little sibling who greeted the whole group with a wide smile; Laxus Dreyar, a huge blond with a lightning-bolt tattoo in the face and the nonchalant drummer, grandson of Fairy tail club's owner; Freed Justine, the green haired guy who played the keyboard and even being Laxus' best friend, the implicit dispute of to whom belonged Mira's heart placed him in a love triangle; Elfman Strauss, the middle one of the white haired siblings whose yells about being a man always earned him an scold from his girlfriend Evergreen, the brunette sister of Bixlow.

Juvia inwardly laughed; just as Erza and Jellal were 'the parents' of their group, Elfman and Evergreen were the ones of her brother's friends; the two of them helped the band with everything they could, kind of the managers. And just as Natsu and Gray were always fighting and making a brawl, Laxus' indifference was the principal fuel of her brother's anger, which led them in the same way.

* * *

_Ugh, I knew it was a bad idea._

Juvia was standing all on her own in the middle of the crowd.

Of course, sixteen people strolling down a street together was not possible; at some point, they begun parting. Some of them stopped to buy something on a stand while others -a great group surprisingly- shouted something about looking for a food contest and disappeared; a minority stopped from time to time to look the souvenirs of another stand, while she...

She ended up all alone after gazing at the flowers. The sakura trees always amused her and without realizing, she parted from the rest to contemplate them, her friends leaving her behind.

She sighed deeply; she was always so absent-minded, literally trapped in her own world. But she was not complaining about being alone, because she liked it; but being alone without money during the festival was bad. Her stomach had growled from a long time now and she had no mean to feed it.

Her yukata was beautiful but had no pockets; carrying a purse in such a crowded place and being the clumsy person she was, Juvia asked Lucy to put it on her bag since it had an strap and it was safer than the blue haired girl walking through the street with the purse on her hand. Of course, she didn't count and didn't think about the possibility of parting from the blond.

She sighed deeper if possible and looked through the unknown faces; no sight of her friends. She kept on walking and soon a wide smile was plastered on her face just by seeing the cheerful atmosphere around her; the kids playing with their large grins and adults chatting with the same spirit of the youngest ones; the paper lamps hanging over their heads and the bright-vivid colors which dressed the stands were truly pleasant to the eye. The festival effect on people was amazing.

She stopped in her track when her eyes saw what it seemed to be the only place were cotton candy was sold.

Juvia was not as fond as Erza on sweets, but she could eat several amounts of white chocolate in a row. And she loved cotton candy. So that's why the next thing her brain thought was _money, I need money._

She resumed the search for her friends with a certain urge. _Damn, I need to eat something before the cotton candy too._

And as if the world had listened to her thoughts she suddenly noticed a large queue in front of a particular stand. "Takoyaki" she read from the huge sign over the heads and as if her stomach had been the first one to see it instead of her eyes, a loud growl came from her belly. _D-did he listened to him?_ she wondered when the last guy of the queue glanced at her. She stepped closer, ignoring the looks from the people who thought she was trying to jump the queue, and she felt like a dog while drooling, the smell intensifying this feeling.

She was cursing so much when a white haired guy approached her, carrying two helpings. "Cutie-chan, what's the matter?"

Juvia was surprised and almost yelped when she realized he was directing to her. _Cutie-chan?_ "U-uhm, I forgot my purse" she answered, as always, in a low voice.

He stretched an arm to her. "Would you like this one?" he offered with a kind smile.

Before her stomach could accept it with a growl, she instantly asked him "R-really?!"

The guy nodded. "Sure. I bought two just in case but I think I'm going to be fine with just one".

She gladly took it with a smile. "Thank you so much! You truly saved me and this little guy" she said while patting her belly. The guy chuckled while taking a ball of the food and munching on it. She imitated him. "You came alone?"

She shook her head and gulped to speak. "I'm with my friends but since we were a lot, I lost them" she explained as the back of her mind wondered how come she was talking with a total stranger. "A-and you?" she added, thinking it would be impolite to not ask the same.

He nodded. "I'm with some friends too but they wanted to eat something different".

"They should have gone to the food contest; some people of my group went there" she commented.

The white haired guy took the last piece of takoyaki. "Haha, who knows, maybe they ended up there and are facing your friends right now"

Juvia shrugged with a tiny smile. "Maybe"

He cleaned his hands with a napkin and throw it on a nearby trash bin. "Well, cutie-chan, I'm glad I saved you from starvation but you shouldn't accept food from strangers" he smirked. "Oh, don't worry, I'm not a bad guy" he added when fear flashed through her face "But really, be careful and have a nice night" He begun walking away while waving a hand.

She was startled for the sudden and abrupt goodbye but as soon as she recovered, she shouted with her hands cupping her mouth. "T-thank you very much!"

"No problem" was the last thing he said before disappearing into the crowd.

"Lyon!" a pink haired girl angrily shouted at the same white haired guy. "What took you so long?!" she asked as he approached her and she frowned when she noticed his hands were empty. "What happened with the takoyaki?!"

"I'm sorry, Sherry. I..." he looked back at the crowded street "I eat it all"

"What?! You eat my takoyaki and you don't even bring another one? Jeez, bastard!" she turned around and walked away, leaving behind Lyon smiling to himself.

_"I'm sure we'll meet again, Cutie-chan"._

* * *

"D-do you have, by chance, a candy cotton?" she asked even though the answer was obvious.

The man looked surprised at her and his smile fainted a little; he didn't like to disappoint customers. "I'm sorry, young lady, but I had run out of ingredients" he truly was and Juvia knew it, for he seemed to be a good person, "I had just sold the last one" his smile turned into an apologetic one as he looked for something. "Here, take this please" he said, offering her a marshmallow.

Juvia blinked and agitated her arms frantically in front of her. "No sir, I can't accept it" he was being too kind and his good intentions made her smile. "Thank you and good night" she said turning around.

_Damn bastard whoever bought the last one _she cursed but smile a little when she found Levy and Lucy with the Strauss sisters.

"What's the matter, Juvia?" the oldest white haired girl asked her.

She shook her head slightly. "Never mind" she smiled, still cursing inwardly. "So, where are the others?"

"Some of them had already left" Lisanna begun. "I think the only ones here are those who eat like pigs on the contest".

Juvia laughed as she remembered Natsu, Gray, his brother, Erza, Elfman and Laxus leaving for the said contest.

As the five girls looked for them, they interchanged their different experiences and after a while, saw their friends looking for them too.

Mama and papa walking behind Laxus and Gajeel -who were having a very heated argument as usual-. Natsu was talking with Elfman and Gray was walking beside them with something in his right hand. Juvia narrowed her eyes; that was... a cotton-candy.

"YOU-!" she begun, pointing an accusing finger to the black haired man as the now eleven people walked together.

He raised an eyebrow -Juvia always wondered how he managed to move just one of them with such precision- and stretched the pink sweet to her; she blinked a few times as she stared to the offered candy and then to him. "F-for me?"

Gray glanced at her empty hands. "Yes, I knew you were going to lose your purse"

Juvia frowned. "I didn't lose it" she said, snapping the cotton candy from his hand "I put it on Lucy's bag and forgot to take it out".

He feigned an amused face. "Oh, that sure is a level up for you" he smirked and begun chuckling when she munched fiercely the pink candy, thinking it was his head.

She sighed; they always ended up like that: Gray chuckling after teasing her and she pouting or frowning annoyed. Even though, deep in her mind, Juvia knew she was not truly upset. And he did bought the cotton candy for her (wow, how did he know she like it?) and she had to thank him, even if the guy was laughing of her clumsiness.

She looked at him: Gray was staring at the now four guys fighting, his arms folded behind his head as his playfully smile told her he was pondering about joining them. "Thank you" she said with a wide smile.

His eyebrows raised as he glanced at her, blinking with surprise. "No problem" he smiled and looked forward again.

She did the same while his words echoed in her mind; the white haired guy had said her the same after thanking him. _Such a nice person _she thought as Gray finally butted in the brawl; she joined the other girls. _But he was right, I should be more careful_ and before forgetting it again, she asked for her purse to Lucy.

* * *

**So Lyon gets into the picture! Or fic, whatever...**

. . .

**Medaka-chan: Como siempre la mejor! Y sí, tené por seguro que la va a pasar mal en la friendzone muajaja (?**

**YamixTeaLover: As you can see, I followed your suggestion about Mirajane, Freed and Laxus ;) Thanks for the idea and for your support :D**

**Poppypants: I'm soo happy that you like this haha, Thank you!**

**Little kitty: I'm truly thankful but I hope this update won't mess it up with your school life (?**

. . .

**Thank you for reading!**

**Next update goes to 'Feeling every sunset' but beware because the plays are _coming back_**

**and if you are wondering what the next one will be about, I can only tell you this:**

**Nyaan ~**

**Till next chapter!**

**Yumeko nee**


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